James Yap overcomes scoring slump, says there is no relaxing as he nears 36

Delfin Dioquino

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James Yap overcomes scoring slump, says there is no relaxing as he nears 36
Being able to hit the 20-point mark at age 35 gives him a lot of confidence, says James Yap

MANILA, Philippines – Having won two PBA MVP awards and making a name for himself as one of the deadliest scorers the league has ever seen, James Yap, more often than not, puts up big numbers.

But with Father Time creeping up on him at age 35, Yap could not help but have a string of off-nights. 

In his first 3 games this season, the 14-time PBA All-Star chalked up a combined 10 points, burying only 4 of his 26 shot attempts for an atrocious 15.4 percent shooting.

He was a non-factor in back-to-back losses to the Globalport Batang Pier and the Blackwater Elite. 

But against the streaking Phoenix Fuel Masters on Wednesday, January 17, Yap proved that he still personifies the “Big Game” moniker he has carried throughout his career as he helped the Elastopainters get back on the winning track.

Yap registered 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting on top of 6 rebounds in Rain or Shine’s 120-99 romp of the Fuel Masters.

“Malaking bagay ‘to [sa kumpiyansa ko]. Sa lahat ng kumbaga, pinaghirapan mo sa papakundisyon, at least nagbubunga. So pagpapatuloy ko pa rin ‘yung ginagawa ko or higitan ko pa para kahit papano masustain or tuloy tuloy na,” said Yap, relieved that his personal slump had ended.

(This is big for my confidence. For everything I worked hard for, at least I’m getting something out of it. I will just continue or exceed what I do so I can sustain this kind of play.)

As one of the league’s elder statesman, Yap knows he has to work with the double the effort when facing against the PBA’s young guns.

And with a bevy of up-and-coming guards in Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng showing they can go toe-to-toe with the best, the 7-time PBA champion is well aware that he can’t just relax.

“Kaya nga nagpapa kundisyon lagi. Walang relax. I’m 35, 36 na next month, wala, keep working hard pa rin. Doon ka lang naman mapag-iwanan pag hindi ka nag hardwork.”

(That is the reason why I want to be well-conditioned during games. There is no relaxing for me. I’m 35 and going 36 next month and I will just keep working hard. You will only get left out if you do not put the hardwork in.) – Rappler.com

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Delfin Dioquino

Delfin Dioquino dreamt of being a PBA player, but he did not have the skills to make it. So he pursued the next best thing to being an athlete – to write about them. He took up journalism at the University of Santo Tomas and joined Rappler as soon as he graduated in 2017.